Boss and shutter assembly

Abstract

A boss ( 30 ) for use in a shutter having blades, the boss including an axial pin about which the boss is adapted to rotate, a complementary surface adapted to engage a translating member such as a toothed rack, a bearing surface adapted to rest in or on a support in the shutter assembly and blade engaging means ( 48 ). A shutter assembly and blade configuration are also disclosed.

1 . A shutter assembly having a plurality of modular units, each modular unit adapted to mount a shutter blade and including: 
 an elongate member unit stackable and engageable to like elongate member units to form an assembled elongate member; and    a support for a compact boss adapted to be engaged to the shutter blade, whereby rotation of the compact boss causes rotation of the shutter blade    wherein the elongate member is adapted to facilitate the reciprocal travel of a translating member along or within the assembled elongate member and the support is adapted to support the compact boss for co-action with the translating member to translate the reciprocal motion of the translating member into rotational motion in the compact boss whereby to pivot the shutter blade.    
   
   
       2 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the elongate member unit includes a pair of separately formed and joinable half components.  
   
   
       3 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the assembled elongate member units form a housing for the compact boss and the translating member.  
   
   
       4 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the translating member is controlled by a motorized turning means having sensors responsive to environmental conditions.  
   
   
       5 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the elongate member unit may be formed from one or more components.  
   
   
       6 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the elongate member unit may include a unitary integrally molded component.  
   
   
       7 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , 
 wherein the elongate member unit may include a cast component.    
   
   
       8 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the engagement of the modular unit to adjacent like member units may include a variety of modular unit engagement means.  
   
   
       9 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 8 , wherein the modular unit engagement means may include male members adapted to engagedly co-operate with female members on an adjacent member unit.  
   
   
       10 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 9 , wherein male members include headed pins.  
   
   
       11 . The shutter assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the modular unit engagement means include snap lock locaters.  
   
   
       12 . The shutter assembly of  claim 8 , wherein the modular unit engagement means include any one chosen from the group of apertures, grooves, tracks, slots or the like.  
   
   
       13 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , wherein the compact boss includes: 
 a) a short axial member whereby the boss is adapted to rotate about the axis of the axial member;    b) a complementary surface adapted to engage the translating member capable of translating the linear motion of the translating member into rotational movement of the boss;    c) a bearing surface adapted to rest in or on a support in the shutter assembly; and    d) blade engagement means to impart rotational motion to the blade corresponding to the rotational motion of the boss.    
   
   
       14 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the blade engagement means engages the boss with the blade at two or more locations off-centre relative to the axis of rotation of the axial pin.  
   
   
       15 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the blade engagement means includes at least one protrusion extending from either the boss or the shutter blade, such that the protrusion of the boss or the shutter blade is keyed to co-act with a correspondingly configured recess in the shutter blade or the boss, respectively.  
   
   
       16 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the engagement means includes a pair of protrusions lockably engageable to corresponding recesses in an end of the shutter blade.  
   
   
       17 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the complementary surface includes a combination of ridges and recesses adapted to cooperate with complementary features on the translating member.  
   
   
       18 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 13 , wherein the complementary surface is in the form of geared teeth.  
   
   
       19 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 1 , with a plurality of the bosses defined in  claim 13 , said shutter assembly including: 
 a pair of opposed, parallel, spaced elongate members, at least one said elongate member having a plurality of the supports, each support adapted to support one of the plurality of bosses;    the translating member adapted to travel reciprocally along or within at least one of said elongate members; and    a plurality of the shutter blades, each said blade engaged with one of said bosses.    
   
   
       20 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 19 , wherein the at least one elongate member is in the form of a housing adapted to house a plurality of the bosses.  
   
   
       21 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 19 , wherein each boss includes seal means to prevent the ingress of dirt and grime into the housing.  
   
   
       22 . A shutter assembly according to  claim 19 , wherein the seal means includes a bush coaxial to, and from which extends, the axial pin.  
   
   
       23 . (Cancelled)